Voters thronged to the polls in Massachusetts Tuesday in a special election Republicans hope will be a national game-changer, slowing down President Barack Obama's agenda and loosening the Democratic grip on the U.S. Senate.
As dawn broke in the frosty Northeast, the GOP publicly relished the possibility that a previously obscure state senator, Scott Brown, could wrest the election from Democrat Martha Coakley, considered the overwhelming favorite until just a few days ago.
In contrast to the light turnout for the party primaries last month, both candidates expected a heavy turnout following the national attention thrust upon their race. There was a clear sign at one polling place: A line of cars stretched for nearly a half-mile from the gymnasium at North Andover High School, the polling place for a community of about 30,000 about a half-hour north of Boston. Some drivers turned around in exasperation.
Speaking to reporters after she voted early Tuesday at an elementary school near her home, Coakley voiced confidence that she would win, saying "we've been working every day."
She said "we're paying attention to the ground game. ... Every game has its own dynamics. ... We'll know tonight what the results are." The polls close at 8 p.m. EST.
As people headed to work in Boston, the area's leading all-news radio station was filled with Brown get-out-the-vote ads. He was getting a similar boost from the conservative-leaning hosts of the area's leading sports talk station. Eastern Massachusetts also was hit with intermittent snow showers, placing a premium on motivated voters.
The race to fill the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Senate seat in liberal Massachusetts neared its conclusion with not only its outcome, but the fate of Obama's program, under a cloud. Republicans want Brown to become their 41st vote in the 100-member Senate, giving them enough strength to successfully filibuster Democratic initiatives, including the massive health care bill that majority Democrats are rushing to finish.
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